A heritage building in downtown Victoria is set to be the site of Victoria’s most expensive condos. Calvin To reports.
A heritage building at the corner of Government and Wharf Streets is set to become the site of Victoria’s most expensive condos.
The building had been in the federal government’s hands since the 1800s until it was purchased by Cielo Properties about six years ago.
Plans released by Cielo include the complete demolition and replacement of the newer addition to the building, as well as the preservation of the facade of the older heritage structure.
When complete in about two years, the development, called Customs House, will be home to Victoria’s most expensive condos.
The units will range from 1,450 to 4,400 square feet and will cost from around $500,000 to more than $10 million.
The developer says it will be an investment that’s worth the price.
“There’s three rules to real estate: location, location, location,” said Cielo president Stan Sipos. “This probably has five of those words in it. It’s all location. And it’s bulls-eye direct, there’s not a millimetre left or right of that bulls-eye.”
The building will house a total of 57 residential units and the ground floor will have high-end retail.
This announcement comes at a time when the demand for luxury properties in Victoria is growing.
According to RE/MAX, sales of properties over $1 million increased by 10 per cent during the first seven months in 2017, compared to the same period last year.
“I think as long as Victoria and Canada provides a safe place for people to raise their families, a safe place to invest, and as long as Canada is seen as a preferred place for education as well, we’re going to see more and more people relocating to our area, and a lot of people bring a lot of money into the country,” said Mark Roozendaal from The Preferred Homes Team.
Cielo Properties says the residential properties are 40 per cent sold.
According to Sipos, 30 per cent of the interest has been local, 35 per cent has been from the rest of Canada, 20 per cent has been from Americans, and the remainder has been from overseas.
Calvin To
